Local woman wins international environmental competition

Published 1:37 pm Thursday, July 2, 2009

Erica Bartlett knows a bit about waste management.

Actually, she knows quite a lot.

She and four Western Washington University teammates won first place, and $6,000, in an international environmental competition held in Detroit, Mich. last month.

“The idea was to evaluate a real-life situation and see if we could find a solution to the problem,” Bartlett said. “We did, but it wasn’t easy.”

The Environmental Challenge International is a student team competition to prepare and present an optimal solution to a complex “true-to-life” environmental problem, offering more than $15,000 in prize money, and the kind of exposure that could lead to a first job in the field. The challenge seeks technical answers combined with appropriate regulatory approaches and resolution of political and community issues.

The hypothetical problem Bartlett and her team had to overcome involved a dispute between the fictional college town of Moochville and the pretend Canadian city of Fillings, which has the only waste dump within 400 miles.

The disposal of municipal solid waste in the United States is becoming an increasing problem as populations rise and land becomes limited.

As Moochville’s population exploded, it began to overrun Fillings’ capacity to handle waste, and the Canadians tripled the fees it charges, to $60 a ton. They also were reluctant to sign an extended agreement because the landfill is, well, filling up fast.

In a collaborative effort, Moochville and “Myshygyn College” sent out a request for proposal, with the specific goal of reducing the reliance on Fillings and focusing on the potential to become self-sufficient.

To win, Bartlett and her team had to write up and present a workable plan that addressed everyone’s concerns.

The winning team’s presentation had to be strong in approach, logic, clarity, application and creativity. Naturally, there was a strict four-page limit for the proposal submittal and a maximum time of 15 minutes to give it.

“Logic of your vision and clarity in your presentation were a critical factor to the judges,” said Bartlett, a 2005 graduate of South Whidbey High School. “We had to make a professional PowerPoint pitch before an audience of severe critics.”

Responding to the challenge, Bartlett’s crew — who called themselves Viking Consulting — developed a comprehensive and sustainable approach to the problems associated with waste disposal in the fictional Moochville area.

The team devised creative waste-reduction strategies, along with construction of cutting-edge waste-to-energy systems within the city of Moochville and on the campus of Myshygyn College.

“Our concept was to eliminate waste export to Fillings, while cutting waste-disposal costs in half as a means of combating urban blight related to recent public dumping activities within Moochville,” Bartlett explained.

The judges loved the idea and Bartlett’s team won the big prize.

Since graduating from college with a degree in environmental policy last month, Bartlett has been looking for a job until she finds a full-time position in the waste-management field.

“Most of the jobs in the industry are science-related, but my specialty is in the area of compliance and regulations,” she said. “My search continues.”